The invention concerns an improved device to exhaust the fumes produced inside accumulator batteries.
It is a known fact that inside accumulator batteries and lead-acid accumulator batteries in particular, fumes are produced while they are in operation and/or are being recharged. Said fumes need to be exhausted from the interior of the accumulator to ambient otherwise they would cause the expansion of the accumulator battery and its eventual breaking.
For this purpose the lids are equipped with breathing channels which join together the topping up holes or filler openings of the accumulator battery formed in the lid (e.g, by drilling) and communicating with the outside environment through outlet holes.
In correspondence with one or more of said outlet holes is attached a connection complete with a flexible tube for the conveyance of the fumes to the outside.
Since the fumes produced inside the accumulator battery contain also hydrogen which is highly explosive, it is necessary in some cases, to apply an explosion-proof device which prevents any possible flames or sparkles present in the environment from penetrating into the accumulator battery through the breathing channels and cause possible explosions because of ignition of the fumes. Such an explosion-proof device consists of a disc of the known type which allows the fumes produced in the accumulator battery to exit and prevents any possible flames or sparkles present on the outside environment from entering into the breathing channels.
In some embodiments such an explosion-proof disc is contained in a receptacle which constitutes an integral part of the connection which is attached to the hole of the breathing channel. In particular, such a disc is positioned between the union element joining the connection to the outlet hole of the breathing channel and the flexible tube which conveys the fumes away from the accumulator battery. In other embodiments according to a known technique, the explosion-proof disc is associated with the lid of the accumulator battery and is positioned inside a chamber in correspondence with the outlet hole of the breathing channels.
In all the mentioned solutions there is the inconvenience that, because the explosion-proof disc is permeable to the fumes but not to the liquids, it clogs whenever the condensate of the electrolyte liquid settles on its surface, being eventually entrained in the form of steam into the breathing channels by the fumes coming out.
It is understood that such an eventuality results in inconveniences and dangers, because the breathing device is compromised and the fumes, which no longer are exhausted, accumulate inside the accumulator battery causing swelling and consequent deformation.
It is with the purpose of eliminating such an inconvenience that the patent for industrial invention No. VI91A000087 in the name of the same inventor is disclosed, said patent describing a breathing device for accumulator batteries which comprises a chamber formed in the lid of the accumulator battery and communicating with the breathing channels on one side and with the outside environment on the opposite side within which is positioned a disc made of an explosion-proof material which is constrained stably in said chamber by the pressure exerted by a removable cap provided with an opening communicating with the exterior. Between said disc and the bottom of said chamber is defined a pre-chamber for the collection of the condensate of the electrolyte steam which communicates with the underlying elements of the accumulator battery by means of one or more through holes which then allow the condensed electrolyte to return into the accumulator battery.
Even such a solution, however, does not totally solve the problem on how to avoid the clogging of the disc, which can in any case occur with the use, above all whenever great amounts of steam develop in the accumulator battery.
In such a case, in fact, there is a higher entrainment of liquid and therefore the disc is more likely to clog.
The present invention proposes to overcome the limitations which the described breathing systems belonging to the known technique present, and has the purpose of obtaining an improved device to exhaust on the outside the fumes produced inside the accumulator batteries which has a higher working reliability as compared with the devices belonging to the known technique.
It is another purpose that the device according to the invention can almost completely avoid the clogging of the breathing disc.